Talking points

College football - Florida 42, Vanderbilt 14 - Talking points

November 9, 2008|By Jeremy Fowler, Sentinel Staff Writer

The Gators are in prime position to play in the national title game: The more Florida keeps winning big, the larger the Bowl Championship Series lane to drive through becomes. With Penn State's loss to Iowa, the Gators should be the No. 4 team in the BCS in today's rankings, but they are inching closer to should-be-No. 3 Texas. A Florida win in the Southeastern Conference title game over Alabama would knock the Tide out of the top spot, assuming Nick Saban's team keeps winning, and that would leave somebody from the Big 12 South -- out of the three-team cluster of Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech -- to try to stave off the Gators. Florida still has to handle South Carolina, which is always problematic for Florida, and Florida State, but this latest five-game momentum shouldn't stop for two teams that aren't elite.

Tim Tebow is back: Finally. This is truly the only game Tebow has looked like his 2007 self. He mixed grace with power. He faked out defenders while lowering his shoulder into others. It was the Heisman Trophy Tebow, not the gimpy Tebow who has been playing on a hyperextended knee or a bad ankle at times this season. After averaging 2.6 yards per carry entering the Vanderbilt game, Tebow went off for 88 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. No matter how much he passes, he's still a natural runner who can run through teams. "I was just trying to get to Atlanta," Tebow said of his performance.

The defense and special teams units aren't perfect right now, but they're close: You can't discount how Vanderbilt orchestrated two 80-plus-yard drives in the second half, which shows the Gators might play down to the score more than people think. This game should have been 49 or 56-0. But Florida's ability to create turnovers and blocked kicks is insurmountable. Safety Ahmad Black recorded his fifth interception of the year. The Gators have five blocked punts on the season, and the Gators are 12-0 under Coach Urban Meyer when Florida records a blocked punt. "It's a weapon," Meyer said Saturday of his special teams.

South Carolina should be Florida's closest game in the last six contests: Considering the Gators have pounded the last five SEC teams by a score of 243-57, don't be surprised if Saturday's game against the Gamecocks is actually close. Keep in mind that Steve Spurrier defeated the Gators in 2005 and should have won in 2006 if Gators defensive end Jarvis Moss hadn't blocked that last-second field-goal attempt. Spurrier knows how to play up the limelight in The Swamp, his old digs, which means he has too much pride to get blown out there. But if Florida takes care of business the way it should, it can walk away with a double-digit win.

Emmanuel Moody adds a different dimension to the running game: After much hype in recent weeks, speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey have been relatively quiet the last two games. Enter Moody, who had another impressive night with 48 yards on seven carries. Couple that with his 71-yard performance against Georgia and Moody is a viable option for the stretch run because of his size and ability to break through holes. Demps and Rainey are better when they find space.